Tillman on shoulder: "It's feeling strong, it's feeling better"

SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Tillman said he's going to play catch again today for the fourth or fifth time since receiving his platelet-rich plasma injection. The shoulder feels "much, much better," but he's not going to rush the process. He won't jeopardize his season in order to maintain his streak of opening day starts.

Tillman said he had the injection on Dec. 20 or 22 and was told to wait three-to-five weeks to let it work. He's behind schedule as pitchers and catchers convene at the Ed Smith Stadium complex, but the pace suits him if it leads to an uninterrupted stretch of starts over the summer.

Inflammation in the shoulder led Tillman to contact head athletic trainer Richie Bancells two months ago.

"It never really bothered me. It just never felt how I would want it to in the offseason," Tillman said this morning, waiting at his locker as the media was allowed inside the clubhouse at 8 a.m.

"I took the option of rest at the end of the season. It got better. It got much better. I wanted it to feel perfect. I got hold of Richie and we did the injection.

"They're pretty strict on that side of it. I think you've got to give the injection, I believe it was three-to-five weeks to do what it needed to do. Then the rehab part. That's the fun part. The training staff - Richie and Brian (Ebel) and Dave (Walker) - came down early and we started the rehab after those three weeks were up, and we've been doing them ever since.

"It's feeling strong, it's feeling better, but you've got to do it right. I don't want to do it wrong and just say, 'I'm going to go out there. I'm feeling better.' I want to do it the right way and get it behind us. That way, it's not an issue going forward."

Tillman expressed confidence that he won't miss significant time, but he's unable to offer any assurances about opening day. He left the door cracked, but with air barely able to seep through it.

"The whole thing in the offseason is that I hadn't picked up a ball yet," he said. "It was just, I wanted to feel real good before I did. I've been throwing here recently and I'm going to throw again today. It's been feeling real good throwing and it's getting stronger, and it's feeling better every day. I haven't really felt it much. It's definitely much, much better than when I was sitting at home not doing much."

Tillman's streak of opening day starts is expected to end at three.

"I think it's always a disappointment, but I kind of have a good feeling for where this thing is at right now," Tillman said. "I wouldn't be hugely disappointed at this point because I want to do it the right way.

"I think if we were to stick to a strict schedule, I don't think that would put that date there. The whole back end of our schedule is in pencil. This stuff right now is in pen. We're going to stick to it. The back end of it is not written in pen yet."

Tillman went on the disabled list Aug. 23 with tendinitis in his right shoulder and missed three weeks. He was removed from the wild card game in Toronto after 4 1/3 innings with the score tied 2-2.

"I don't think it was any secret. I went on the DL early. I wasn't feeling 100 percent, but I was feeling good enough to pitch," Tillman said.

"I think some of it was strategy. The back end of the bullpen is really good. We have a lot of freakin' good guys out there. Excuse my language. But we've got a good bullpen and you've got to go with what you've done all year and that's pretty much what we did. That's our best team."

Tillman described his shoulder as just not feeling right.

"Every pitcher in here, there's probably something clinical. And you can read into that or you don't," he said. "I just wanted to get it behind us and do it the right way. I think that's why we're taking our time with it. We could go much faster, which would probably be the wrong way to do it. We sat down and we want to do it right and get this thing in the rearview mirror."

Tillman said he had to make some adjustments in order to get back in the rotation.

"I was able to pitch, I really was," he said. "It was just the bullpen and I had to take it a little differently, take a different mindset. Getting ready to throw was a little different, but I was fine to pitch and I think I'll be fine to pitch when the lights turn on. It's just getting it strong enough and healthy enough to where I don't want to have to worry about it. I want to get it behind us."

Tillman is a free agent for the first time after the season, which won't factor into his timetable.

"That's what I mean by what I say I want to do this right," he said. "I don't want to rush just to try to have a good year this year to set something up. I want to do this right, no matter how long it takes, I want to get this behind me and not rush back into it.

"The urge is definitely there to go out and throw every day and do the PFPs because I feel like I can, but I want to do it right."

The Orioles haven't set up further tests on Tillman's shoulder. There are no MRIs in his immediate future, just games of catch and patience.

"That stuff is pretty much all in pen now," he said. "We've got a couple more dates of catch and long toss and we'll work our way toward this. I'm not 100 percent sure of the dates.

"There's a lot of hurdles to get over. I think most of them are mental. To get past that is part of it. I've talked to many doctors in the last couple months and they're all optimistic and all positive. I think it's getting past the hurdles. And if there's a setback, there is. But like I said, I want to do it right. I'm not going to rush it out there just to get out there and have two more starts. I feel good right now.

"Everyone in the big leagues is going to play through something and going to pitch through something, but when it's your arm or your leg, it's a little different. If it was back or knee or hamstring, you could pitch through that and get through. But I want to do this right and not be dumb about it and get it done."

Kevin Gausman figures to be the opening day starter if Tillman is on the disabled list, an assignment that isn't occupying his thoughts.

"It's only the second day of camp," said Gausman, who's throwing a bullpen session today. "I'm just focused on getting back into baseball shape and getting used to these long stretches. It's something that kind of crossed my mind when I heard he might not be ready, but we have a lot of good guys around here, a lot of veteran guys. We'll see what happens, but right now more focused on him getting ready, him being healthy coming back strong. Really all of us going into the season healthy and feeling good about where we are.

"It sucks, but at the same time, I know he's been getting after it in here, doing his rehab. He's one of the first guys in here every day. If there's ever a chance of him being ready before they say he is, he's going to be that guy that's going to be ready before he should. Obviously, it's tough to see a guy go down, but as I saw yesterday the first day of camp, we've got a lot of good arms here. Guys showed up and it's pretty exciting to see, so we have a lot of guys who are willing and able to step into that spot and pitch some meaningful innings, so that's exciting.

"I think it definitely helps us how many days off we have early in the season. We wouldn't necessarily need five guys until April 15 and that definitely helps. It gives him a little bit more time to get ready. Hopefully, this is a good thing and he comes back stronger. He's been getting after it, so I know he's working hard to get back sooner rather than later, for sure."